Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

No more regular schedule in release of Nintendo Switch Online NES, SNES games

Aaron Mamiit
By

More NES and SNES games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online, but subscribers will no longer know when the retro titles will arrive on the service.

Nintendo Switch Online launched last year with a library of 20 popular NES games that included Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, and The Legend of Zelda. Since then, more NES games have been added to the service at a rate of two to three games per month.

Recommended Videos

Right in time for its first birthday, Nintendo Switch Online expanded its retro offerings with the addition of 20 SNES games that include Super Mario World, Super Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. A $30 wireless SNES controller was also unveiled, in a similar fashion to last year’s wireless NES controller.

Related

A collection of 20 titles is not enough to include all the popular games of the console, and notable omissions include RPG classics such as Final Fantasy VI, Secret of Mana, and Chrono Trigger. Subscribers hoped that their favorite SNES games would arrive in future monthly updates, but it now appears that there will be a different release schedule from now on.

“More NES games will be added in the future, but those releases will not adhere to a regular schedule,” a Nintendo representative told Business Insider. “More Super NES games will be added after launch, but those releases will not adhere to a regular schedule,” the representative echoed for the service’s SNES library.

The good news is that more NES and SNES games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online. However, in comparison, there were regular monthly releases for the Virtual Console emulators of the Wii and Wii U for years before the updates slowed down. Virtual Console games may be purchased individually though, instead of all being made available through a subscription.

Wishful thinking is that more NES and SNES games will be added to the service at a faster rate, though logic dictates that the statement was made because the arrival of more titles will slow down. Hopefully, this means that the addition of more retro consoles to Nintendo Switch Online is in the works, with the Nintendo 64 next up.

It currently remains unclear how irregular the release of more Nintendo Switch retro games will be. In the meantime, subscribers may play the newly added SNES games for a kick of nostalgia.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Aaron Mamiit
Aaron Mamiit
Contributor
Aaron received a NES and a copy of Super Mario Bros. for Christmas when he was 4 years old, and he has been fascinated with…
Everything you need to know about Nintendo Switch Online
Person holding Nintendo Switch, looking at the home screen.

Much like Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, the Nintendo Switch makes it easy to jump online and play with friends. The service, known simply as Nintendo Switch Online, has seen big changes over the years, and it now offers plenty more than access to online multiplayer. One of the biggest draws is its growing collection of games from N64, NES, and other iconic platforms -- making Nintendo Switch Online a great way to access the best titles from past generations.

Nintendo offers a few different options when it comes to paying for Nintendo Switch Online, with both individual accounts and family accounts up for grabs. From its library of retro games to a smartphone application and special offers, here's a complete look at Nintendo Switch Online.
Individual/family subscription models

Read more
Mother 3 is finally on Nintendo Switch … but only in Japan
Clause standing b y a bench in Mother 3.

Mother 3, the highly requested cult-classic RPG for the Game Boy Advance, is set to appear today on the Nintendo Switch Online service. But there's a catch: It's only available in Japan.

North Americans were first introduced to the Mother series under the name Earthbound on the SNES in 1995. As was common at the time, the game was renamed for the West in an attempt to avoid confusion. In 2006, a third entry was released in Japan for the GBA simply called Mother 3, but it has never had an official translation for Western audiences. Both Mother 2, aka Earthbound, and the original Mother, renamed Earthbound Beginnings, have been added to Nintendo Switch Online, but there has never been any indication that the third game would receive the same treatment.

Read more
Grounded and Pentiment are the first Xbox games to come to Nintendo Switch
Characters in Grounded game.

During Wednesday's Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase, we learned about two of the Xbox Game Studios titles that are going multiplatform. The games in question are Obsidian Entertainment's Grounded and Pentiment, and the latter will launch tomorrow on Nintendo Switch.

Earlier this year, various leaks and rumors suggested that first-party Xbox exclusives like Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment could make their way over to competing platforms. Microsoft finally addressed the rumors on February 15, confirming that it planned to bring four of its first-party games to non-Xbox platforms over the course of 2024. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer wouldn't say what any of the specific games were at the time, though, stating that "the teams that are building those games have announced plans that are not too far away." It's now clear that Spencer was partially referring to this Nintendo Direct, as two of the games showed up here.

Read more